Sentience
by Aurora-Boring-Alis
Summary: Sentience - the ability to feel or perceive things; to be responsive to or conscious of sense impressions. [Platonic Shardicole. Pre-SGW. Set around StH #238.]
_Sentience_

The robot sat alone in his quarters. Metal chains that could hold all sorts of crafts hung from the ceiling. Tool chests and red metal boxes were pushed against the wall. Mounted on the wall was a huge monitor hung at the perfect angle. A computer was hidden somewhere in the room. This was the garage, home to all things mechanical, including him.

Aside from Chuck, he was the only one who used it, albeit involuntarily. He was still in construction. Sure, majority of his body was built and working like a dream, but there was one thing that wasn't. His left arm. That stupid canon arm he'd been so used to using was without a few units. And Chuck couldn't fix it until he finished fine-tuning the team's Extreme Gear. The robot often forgot that the rest of his team weren't outfitted with jet boosters that allowed for quick travel. The closest was probably Silver's "psychokenesis" or whatever he called it.

The lab was needed by Elias or whatever his name was, so he was moved into the garage. He was currently bunking with a set of half-finished Extreme Gear and a bunch of tools. He figured he could take it for himself without complaint from anyone else. Why would they even want the drafty garage? Everyone else on the team was organic, with fur, eyes, nails, the whole nine yards.

He was the odd one out by not only being mechanical, but by his former purpose. Yes, Silver really messed up before, on more than one occasion, but he didn't have as bad as the robot. He wasn't created by Eggman with the intent to destroy the blue blur himself.

The robot frowned, lying on a creeper that most definitely belonged to Chuck. The leather had been cracked and stretched out and two of the wheels had been stuck. No doubt the old professor had spent many nights trying to sleep on that thing while creating him.

His robotic arm crossed behind his head, the other, half-finished and rested against the creeper. It was hitched up to some machine that would allow his body extra power for his Power Gem Core. He wasn't damaged, no. His Core had just been weakened after years of weathering and being buried in hardened rock. Mount Mobius was not a happy memory for him. Heck, he didn't have any pleasant memories at all. The only one he could immediately recall is when he made Chuck fall off of his stool after his voice chip malfunctioned.

He cringed, his fingers curling. It made him sick, knowing that he had been built by Eggman to kill Sonic the Hedgehog. He was to stop the most influential member of the Freedom Fighter guerrilla group once long ago. And now where was he? Chilling in the Secret Freedom Fighters' headquarters, with a mission to assist Team Fighters. Oh, how ironic fate can be.

His optics traced down to his Power Gem Core, the sole thing reminding him... Hell, _everybody_ , of his origins. Everywhere he went, people noticed the diamond shaped green jewel on his chest. It marked him, stating that he was property of Eggman.

 _I broke away from him... I'm my own being now._ The Mecha thought, rolling onto his side. The cords connected to his canon tugged taut. His optics stared at a metallic wall, coated with a reflective varnish. His eyes stared into the black and yellow reflection of himself, studying it. _But it can't erase the fact that I once belonged to him. Or the feeling that I'm just a tool.  
_  
They always say that you can run, but you can't hide. And nothing couldn't be more true than that for him. In an effort to escape the fact that he was built for the purpose of misery and destruction and heartache, he ran. He ran and ran and ran and kept going, regardless of any damage. But he couldn't hide from his original function.

His sensors picked up another presence, his optics growing wide. He lifted his head, the creeper creaking as his weight shifted. He heard the door to the garage open with a gentle _whoosh_.

Light from the hallway poured in as he saw her, a long purple gown trailing behind her gracefully. It was that lynx-like AI that had appeared when he was just a torso, head and a voice chip. His optics scanned her, absorbing every feature. He watched as small green nanites formed and glowed with her every step. Her raven fur was cut so that fringe swept to the left of her face, whilst the rest flowed over her shoulders. A few clay beads were braided into two locks of her fine fur.

Her face was shadowed, but her green eyes glowed brightly. Artificial fluorescence from the lab marked her face as she stepped inside. She was beautiful, gorgeous, breath taking... Nothing on Mobius could ever compare to her. Not the night-soaked deserts, lush and humid rain forests, or the sunken, flower covered valleys. She was untouchable – she existed on another plane of perfection.

He had seen her many times while at Secret HQ. She didn't seem to stay for very long, but when she arrived, it was always serious. The room would always quiet and Chuck would remove his Power Gem Core, forcibly shutting the mecha down. He quietly pushed himself up, his green optics watching as she moved towards one of the tool chests.

"Lookin' for something?" He called, still hidden by the darkness.

She jumped, body seizing in surprise. A green exclamation point appeared above her head. Without reaching for the switch, she had turned the lights on.

The mecha internally cursed himself as she let out a sigh of relief. "You startled me!" She said as she shook her head and laid a hand on her chest.

"Sorry." He said almost immediately after.

The lynx waved her hand. "I meant that I didn't expect you to be here." She said. Her green eyes traced him; still laying on the creeper, still connected to that energy source. Her brow furrowed as she shifted, pointing to him. "I constructed Secret HQ with enough space so that everyone would have living quarters... Why are you here?"

He shrugged. "Robot don't tend to need to sleep in a bed." He said before sitting up fully. The creeper whined as he rested his elbows on his knees, meeting with a gentle 'clank'. The cord connecting him was pulled as far as it could go.

"I suppose." She murmured, her gaze trailing away from him.

"Are you looking for anything?"

Her eyes widened as she nodded. "Yes." She said. "Have you by any chance seen a set of ratchets? Sir Charles thinks he left them here."

The robot rubbed his metallic muzzle with his right hand. He recalled to his memory bank, optics turning blue for a moment before returning to their regular green. "Sorry, can't say I have."

"Oh," She murmured. "Well, thank you anyways."

He laid back against the wall as her gaze fluttered to the cord connecting him to the wall. "You're the Mecha Sonic model, correct?"

"The one and only." He said, snapping with his fingers. He shot her a smile.

He swore he heard a small giggle escape her lips. She held out her hand. "I'm NICOLE. It's a pleasure to meet you." She said. He gently grasped her hand, careful not to crush it with his strength.

"The pleasure is all mine," He said.

"I don't mean to pry, but I'm curious, if you're a repurposed Mecha Sonic, why do you still use that title? You're not aligned with the Doctor anymore; at least I hope you aren't."

The robot shrugged. "Why do you use the name NICOLE?" He asked.

"Because it's the name I was given." The AI said before raising a hand. "But if I were you, I would prefer a new title."

"Like what?"

NICOLE's brow knit in concentration. "I'm not sure. What name would you like?"

For once, he was out of comebacks. No snappy remark or quick joke sprang to his mind. Possibly because this wasn't about his mission or his job or his duty, but about him instead. About what _he_ wanted. He was at a loss for words, so he shrugged.

"Hmm..." The AI murmured before spinning around to him. "How about Shard?"

"Shard?" He asked in slight disbelief.

"Shard. Shard the Mecha." She said before giving him a smile. "It sounds fitting."

The robot smirked. "Shard the Mecha..." He said aloud, testing words on his voice chip. He repeated it several times, bouncing around on the walls of the garage as the AI smiled.

"I like it." He said before throwing a smirk at her. "Thanks NICOLE." He said as her eyes flashed to the cord that was connected to the power source. Her green gaze flashed with worry, her brow furrowing. "Have you been damaged?"

He followed her gaze before batting his free hand and shaking his head. "Just a little recharge." He lied. "Having old software sucks."

"I would assume." The lynx said. "Do you know what you're charging with?"

"Ring energy."

"How much?"

"Jeez, um..." He murmured, glancing at the capsule. His eyes scanned over the bubble, which had filled to the brim. He rubbed the top of his metallic quills. "At least ten."

The lynx crouched to his level. She held out her hand, motioning to his half-finished cannon. "May I?"

"Sure." He said as her hands grasped his cannon. Shard's semi-complete cannon was burning hot from being charged. His gaze focused on the lynx as she shut her eyes, brow knitting in concentration.

Shard felt his cheeks grow warm from her touch, as if he was being charged. "According to my calculations, you could use more rings for a stronger charge." She said, her gaze trailing up to his. She held it for a moment.

"Really?"

"Yes, by at least fifteen more. But you could always stay with your current amount." She said. "It might allow you a longer change and help strengthen your Power Gem Core.

"How did you...?" He wondered.

"I'm the guardian of the city. I know quite a bit." She answered immediately. NICOLE pulled her hands away from his arm, rising to her feet.

"Thanks." He said as she gave him a thin smile.

"No problem. We sentient AIs have to stick together."

The mecha couldn't help but smile. "Yeah. We do." He agreed before pointing at her. "If anyone gives you trouble, just tell them Shard's your friend. That'll take care of it." He said, all haughty and self absorbed.

The AI gave him another smile as she approached the doorway. "I can hold my own, but thank you." She said, giving a gentle wave. "Rest well, Shard."

The mecha watched as the lynx exited the garage, the lights shutting off and the door shutting behind her. He laid back against the creeper. Something about NICOLE made Shard feel... Odd.

Yes, he'd felt odd before like at Mount Mobius... But this... This was very different. What is another one of those annoying emotions that popped from time to time? Because if it was, he didn't mind it in all honesty.

Well, maybe not entirely. His entire body felt like it was burning hotter than a broiling oven. Especially his cannon, it felt like it was on fire. _Emotions are weird._ He thought before shifting against the creeper and entering sleep mode.

* * *

 _A/N:_

This is like, two one shots within a span of 24 frickin' hours. Happy birthday or whatever..

 _So... Why'd I write this? To quote Sonic from '06, "No special reason." Oh man... I quoted Mephiles pretty early on in this too. I swear some of the lines from that game are engraved into my mind. It's nasty._ _This was actually written earlier on in the year, but I decided to leave it and rework it. So I left it for a month and came back. Man oh man, I love Shardicole a lot. Why do I like ships where the fic pool is so limited? It's so hard to find any Shardicole fics on this site. I'm pretty sure I'd have an easier time finding a needle in a haystack without my glasses._

Thanks for reading~!


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